The Portaferry Hotel

We’ve been going to the Portaferry Hotel for around 3–4 years now, usually three to four times a year, and it’s always been one of our favourite places to eat. We don’t stay over as we live fairly local, but we’ve often come for meals because the food has always been excellent — especially the mussels, scampi and chips, and salt and chilli chicken, which became our go-to choices. Unfortunately, on our most recent visit, the quality had dropped significantly. The mussels were overly salty with barely any sauce, the salt and chilli chicken was overcooked and very tough, and the portion size was much smaller than usual. The scampi and chips were especially poor — only a few undercooked chips and tiny broken bits of scampi, not full pieces like before. We didn’t complain on the night as we felt awkward doing so, but we sent a message on Facebook Messenger afterwards to share our feedback and even included photos. The message was read but unfortunately never even acknowledged, which we found quite disappointing. It’s a real shame, because we’ve had so many lovely meals here in the past. I hope this was just an off night, but between the poor experience and lack of response, we’ve been left very let down.

Enjoyed the stay . Both the chowder in the evening and the fry I had for breakfast were very good. TV in room was big , room was clean and the views were beautiful

A big thank you to you and your staff after my recent stay at your hotel last weekend as a member of a cycling group. Both breakfast and evening meals were excellent both in quality and service and the provision of a safe storage facility for my bike was much appreciated. Thanks for organising an early breakfast on my final morning and for posting my postcards.

First impressions were favourable with a quaint building and great views of the Lough. The reception staff were warm, friendly and professional. As we entered our £379.50 for 2 nights B&B, the disappointment began. It was advertised as a 4 Poster Deluxe room. However, the 4 Poster, had damage to the top of 1 post, held together by a large bolt. No Iron or Ironing board, a Tassimo coffee machine with no Pods/cartridges so was of no use. The maintenance was poor with widow frames so rotten you could put your fingers in the holes, paintwork flaking off and cracked window panes. Although it's a grade 2 listed building, there is no reason why these cannot be replaced with new like for like ones. We could only watch BBC 1 and 2, ITV and CBBC's. The staff did try to solve the problem but the WIFI was faulty. Not sure if the room was shabby chic or just plain shabby. On a positive note, the staff were excellent welcoming and attentive, and the food was very good. This was our second visit and we could see the overall condition and upkeep had deteriorated. Needless to say we will sadly not be staying again.

The food was nice, but the portion size was terrible. Even the waiter was surprised at the quantity of food on my plate. The hotel has three tables outside. Unfortunately, they are not used for diners, which is a great shame the weather was perfect and the views are stunning.

We have lunched here regularly, being one of our go to places on the Peninsula. Weve always been delighted and today was no exception. The staff are warm, welcoming and always ready to engage, which is why we were disappointed that customers cannot add a gratuity when paying their bill. We have witnessed several 'missed tips' because of this. We're local, know the score and deliberately bring cash, but others will be unaware, although I believe to can 'card' tip in the bar area but not the restaurant. Dear Management, please sort this out. You have a great team and they deserve your support to enable them to accept the recognition you customers want to give. See you tomorrow!